Photochromatic prescription glasses

[Grant]

I'm planning on getting photochromatics for my next pair of glasses, and I'm wondering what the experiences of FM'ers is in this regard on the water as well as driving.

what retailer or optometrist did you get them at?

what tint has worked best under what conditions?

what is your overall opinion, are they worth it, or should I suck up the extra expense and get a whole seperate pair of prescription sunglasses?

I appreciate all input in this, thanks!

Grant

[Bobby Bass]

I am on my 2nd pair of them. I really like them, very good for night driving and good on the water. They do not work as well as a real pair of sunglasses. But all I do is buy a pair of flip down sunglasses and put them on when you need the extra sun blockage. My daughter also wears them. They ran about 200.00 a pair.

[jwhjr]

I also find that they work well on the water and while driving. The only negative I've found is that when it's cold they get much darker and take much longer to change back to normal once getting out of the sun. I had a hard time watching my line a few times ice fishing this winter because they were so dark. Overall I'm happy with them though.

[DinkADunk]

Photochromatic prescription glasses aren't all that good on the water. Mine are great for normal, everyday activities but I use a pair of prescription, polarized sunglasses (Action Optics, all hour brown lenses) when I'm on the water.

[sparcebag]

At one time they were the cats meow.Now I get two pair when there're 2 for 1 price the sunglasses are cheaper frames and the extra 100 bucks for polarization is worth any of the better name sunglasses,Except maybe my Eagle eyes clip ons! You cant get polarized with photochromatic!

[JohnMickish]

The last few pairs that I have had I didn't like because they wouldn't tint dark enough when driving and like mentioned before they didn't work the way I would like when it was cold. I have since switched to a pair of Oakly prescrption polarized sunglasses that work better on the water (tighter fit to my face, less side glare) for $250. Actually my insurance picked up the tab, check yours it might too.

[Grant]

who's your vision carrier?

[Big-Al]

I don't know if Photochromatic and Transition darken on the same principle or not, but my Transition hardly darken at all while driving. It is the infra-red rays that cause the glasses to darken and most any modern windshield filters them out, so they don't darken very much at all.

[JohnMickish]

Our vision isurnace is thru a company called VSP. If you have vision insurance the company dosne't care what frames/lenses you have as long as it comes from an approved store. If your vision Dr.s carry Oakley, Rayban, or any of the other sunglass makers they should be able to get these in prescription for you and file it just like regular glasses.

[Big-Al]

Quote:

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it is the infrared rays that cause the glasses to darken

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I know when I wrote that that it did not sound correct. It is ultra-violet, not the infrared rays that triggers the change.

[sparcebag]

Those Big name Oakely rayburn etc.. your payin for a name if ya wanna be cool spend the extry $150.00,if ya wanna be frugal get regular prescription sunglasses and have them polarized,They work just as well!

[DinkADunk]

No, I already had a pair of those made. The All Hour Brown lenses in my Smith Action Optics are just fantastic for fishing.

[JohnMickish]

Quote:

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Those Big name Oakely rayburn etc.. your payin for a name if ya wanna be cool spend the extry $150.00,if ya wanna be frugal get regular prescription sunglasses and have them polarized,They work just as well!

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Actually the price of the frames is about the same as any other quality made frame, the money is in the lenses where it counts. Check it out you will be surprised. One plus of having the frames made by a sunglass maker is that they are usually made to fit the face tighter or curve around your eyes a bit, thus blocking more of the harmfull UV rays.

Like the sign says, if your eye's are only worth $10, wear $10 glasses.

[theoilman]

I'm on my second pair of transitions. They are great for general use. But for glare on the water I would recommend a good pair of prescription wrap-around polarized sun glasses.